Chenega T66 Tactical Shield

Chenega are proud to launch the T66 Tactical Shield at SCTX 2019 Security & Counter Terror Expo this March 5-6.

It’s always been tough on the frontline and it’s getting more dangerous by the day. Law enforcement officers are facing ever increasing threats from people intent on doing them harm. Terrorists, criminals, the emotionally disturbed and those under the effects of drugs are a deadly daily reality for many of us.

Sadly, 144 law enforcement officers lost their lives in the line of duty in the United States alone during 2018. Many more suffered life changing and career ending injuries. We’re losing colleagues and that’s hurting all of us, and the communities we serve.

In the UK, a recent series of knife attacks shows just how vulnerable officers and the public are when faced with individuals intent on attacking them.

These events inspired a team of highly experienced counter terrorist firearms officers with decades on the frontline, to design and develop the T66 Tactical Shield.

Let’s be honest, we’ve all been issued with bits of equipment that seem to do more to hinder than to help us in the way we do our jobs. Kit that’s too heavy or too flimsy, too cumbersome or too fussy. It gets in the way and is soon discarded.

Our experience told us that officers need a shield that must assist and not restrict effectiveness during fast moving, high pressure, counter terrorism and anti-crime operations, as well as the day to day dangerous encounters faced by law enforcement at large. Many hours of development and replication of those potentially deadly encounters resulted in the design of the T66 Tactical Shield.

We’ve worn body armour and stab vests in hundreds of frontline operations, and while we wouldn’t be without them, we know they offer limited passive protection against an attack. The T66 allows the officer to be better able to confront and effectively deal with an attack. For the first time, non-tactical officers can also have a level of effective protection not previously available to them. It’s a defensive tool that can be used effectively by any officer, irrespective of size, weight or gender. It can easily be carried in kit bags, slung over your back, pushed down behind car seats or into door storage pockets, thus providing ballistic protection that’s quickly deployed.

The T66 Shield is designed to be worn on the support or weak arm of the operator. It has adjustable straps on the forearm, and one across the palm of the hand. The support hand is protected, but fully manoeuvrable, whilst attached to the shield. Because of this design, the shield does not interfere with the flexibility of the wearer’s arm and this means that the elbow and wrist joints are not restricted in any way, thus allowing the wearer a full range of arm/hand movement and dexterity.

The support hand can be used to grab, hold and block attacks, open doors or draw magazines for reload without affecting or compromising the protection offered by the shield. It’s a realistic compromise between protection and mobility. In many operations, only one or two team members are equipped with a shield. In contrast, every member of the team can carry the T66 Shield.

We know this works, especially in tight spaces. We've climbed ladders, gone down ropes, conducted drills on buses, trains and aircraft all of which demonstrated to us how much it is needed.

Specialist Teams

Let’s drill down into the advantages for specialist counter-terrorist and specialist operations teams. Currently, tactical operators can choose to carry a shield and cope with the difficulties this often presents: restricted movement, awkward firing position and the shield getting in the way of the team. If they have no shield, they then must rely on body armour for protection, with the resulting exposure to serious career ending shrapnel or firearms injuries, especially to the forearms.

In most tactical teams the shield is carried by the strongest, biggest team member but with T66 every member can now carry a shield. The T66 Shield is light and operator-friendly. Conventional shields are large, bulky and heavy, requiring the operator to use their support hand to hold and carry the shield. This makes reloads difficult, and if using a pistol or rifle, shooting accuracy and speed are compromised. Teams can lose momentum, operators can be forced into awkward and unstable firing positions, the advantages of speed and surprise are lost. The team is slower, allowing the hostiles more time to react to a slow-moving target. Stop the shield and you stop the team.

MOE (Method of Entry) with the T66 Shield

The T66 is equipped with heavy duty Velcro strips. When carrying out MOE on a doors, officers will stick the Velcro on to the door and then stick the shield on to the door with the opposite male Velcro strip. This now gives ballistic protection for the MOE team to open the door. If you need a larger area covered, place two shields on to the door. When finished, simply pull the shield from the door and continue with the operation. It’s simple, it’s quick and it’s effective. Operators can carry items on the Molle, such as door wedges, tourniquets or pouches. An extra advantage gained by operators using T66 is the ability to search the area or room with mirrors from the doorway before entering and without exposing themselves to danger.

Chenega International is committed to providing our customers the highest level of performance while delivering quality services and solutions. We are continuously improving our innovative solutions and technology services to exceed expectations in customer satisfaction. We comply with the ISO 9001:2008 standard which provides the framework for efficiency in our operations, agility in responding to client needs, and structured mitigation of any risks and issues.